Tag: money matters

I overspent last year. I actually got ashamed of myself, but not to the point of frustration. I knew that my “overspending” was still at the normal level. I didn’t accumulate any debts because everything was well-accounted for. It was just that I felt regretful because I could have saved more money had I not succumbed to overspending.

So, what did I spend my money on? Bigger clothes because I gained weight (this I’m admittedly quite disappointed about!). More pasyal which translated to bigger transportation and eating-out expenses. Some home stuff that I could live without but were too nice and convenient not to indulge myself in (you know, products of the I-deserve-these-comforts-because-I-work-hard attitude that I get on occasions). And other unexpected miscellaneous expenses that I’m too lazy to remember right now.

One year after my last post in this series, I’m writing again to celebrate another milestone in my financial life — my third anniversary as a direct stock market investor via COL Financial!

So far, things have been doing great. The market is bullish once again after several months of being bearish. During those gloomy months, I intentionally didn’t check on my port. The few times I did, I just bought more stocks so I could average down those that were in the red at the time, SSI included. And what do you know? SSI finally recovered last month. It went as high as PHP4.33 per share against my average price of PHP3.88. Thinking that the trend would die down soon, I sold my SSI shares immediately when it got to 4.07, which gave me a gain of around 4.8%. Now, why did I not wait for it go higher? I have to admit I got emotional. It’s been more than a year since I had SSI on the red, with losses reaching as high as 43% at one point. Having seen it turning to green recently was an overwhelming feeling. I just felt I needed to sell it right away for fear that its price would go down again and I would have to wait for a long time before it could recover. At least I still made money from it. The decision also prevented me from selling at a loss when I felt like it.

I only started saving money more seriously in 2014. It was also around that time when I started investing in the stock market. Back then, I created this MS Excel file that I would update religiously. (I actually use it to this day!) I took advantage of Excel’s autosum feature as a way of adding up the money I got to save every month. I made several tables and filled it with relevant items and figures. I felt happy and accomplished because at the end of each passing year up to December 2016, I saw my savings grew dramatically from how it was prior to 2014.

My monthly income distribution, or how I divide my income to provide for my needs and that of my family, is pretty simple. Take note that this “income” refers only to the salary I receive from my job as a rank-and-file government employee. It doesn’t include the hubby’s as we manage our respective salaries and pay for our marital expenses on a shared basis. He still pays more than I do, like he solely takes care of our house and lot amortization, which is something I appreciate about him.

Today marks my second year of investing directly in the Philippine stock market through COL Financial. So far, everything’s okay. I have a number of paper losses but my profit way exceeds its amount so technically, I’m just losing a part of it, not my capital. Also, as long as I don’t sell the losing stock positions, the paper losses will just be imaginary.

Here are more lessons I feel compelled to share with you as I continue on this exciting financial journey:

UPDATE: I finally got a copy of the whole interview from ANC. Click here to watch it. Thank you. 🙂

Last May 23rd, I saw a comment from a certain ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) staff on this blog post I wrote last May 6th. I also got the same message on my FB messenger. Apparently, ANC On The Money wanted me to guest on their show because of the said blog post. I initially wanted to decline the invitation as I was shy in person and I never thought I could do it. (I’m not even an RFP or someone who’s an authority on personal finance, so why me?) But the hubby convinced me otherwise. I later realized it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so I better give it a go or I’d regret it forever. Haha.

The taping of the episode where I guested in as a resource person happened on May 25th. I was presented as a blogger (of Life in Manila). I only had two days of preparation but I still did my best to answer the guide questions given to me via email on the evening of May 24th. Ngaragan lang ang peg, diba? But everything turned out just fine so thank you God and thank you to my prayer warriors (you know who you are)!!!

Some family members are still having a hard time managing their finances. As much as I would like to help them, only they can help themselves. If they will continue sabotaging their budgets and keep a maluho lifestyle, nothing in their financial life will change for the better. One of their money practices is buying things using money they haven’t received yet. Is there really a thrill from such kind of acquisition? Apparently, there is!

The idea that you can have the thing you’ve been wanting to have in advance by borrowing money from someone. The thought that you can buy the merchandise you’ve been planning to get earlier than schedule because somebody is willing to lend you money. The realization that you can get the things you want because you have some money coming soon and there are people that can lend you money right now. There’s a thrill there at some point, right?